Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 4

In Short

This volume gathers two five-act verse plays by Robert Bridges, each recasting a classic dramatic situation through a fresh psychological lens. Palicio follows a Sicilian brigand chief who hides in the mansion of his arch-nemesis, only to fall in love with his host's sister while plotting a bloody uprising against Spanish rule. The Return of Ulysses dramatizes the final, tense chapters of the Odyssey, tracing the hero's covert return to Ithaca, his reunion with his son, and the calculated destruction of the suitors. Both plays survive through their intricate characterizations, formal metric precision, and focus on internal conflict over melodrama.

The Story

The volume opens in Palermo with Palicio, set during the Spanish occupation of Sicily. Public order has collapsed into violence and insurrection. Giovanni Palicio, a noble-born brigand leader who has taken up arms for the commons, is wounded while escaping from prison. Desperate and bleeding, he leaps over a wall into the home of Manuel, the Chief Justiciary of Palermo. Though Manuel is bound to enforce Spanish law, he shares distant ancestral blood with Palicio; he refuses to hand the rebel over to execution, opting instead to bind his wounds and hide him within the mansion.

While recovering in secret, Palicio meets Manuel's sister, Margaret. The two fall deeply in love as she tends his injuries. Yet Palicio cannot abandon his revolutionary crusade. He conspires with corrupt allies like Count Blasco to launch a surprise attack on the Viceroy's palace. Margaret, horrified by the impending bloodshed and desperate to save her lover, secretly betrays Palicio’s tactical plans to prevent the assault. When the venture fails and Palicio learns that Margaret herself thwarted his rebel army to keep him alive, he reacts with furious betrayal, cursing her before collapsing in despair. Meanwhile, Manuel faces his own turmoil as his betrothed, Constance, sinks into a life-threatening fever over political divides. As the crisis peaks, the Viceroy grants a general pardon, restoring Palicio's rank and appointing him chief secretary to champion the people's rights lawfully. Reconciled, Palicio and Margaret, along with Manuel and Constance, prepare for marriage.

The collection shifts to Homeric myth in The Return of Ulysses. The hero arrives on the mist-shrouded shores of Ithaca in deep disguise, guided by Athena. Stepping into the hut of his loyal swineherd Eumæus, Ulysses poses as a destitute wanderer, listening in secret as Eumæus recounts the decay of the kingdom and the predatory suitors consuming the royal estate. Telemachus returns from his quest for news of his father, and Ulysses reveals his identity to his son in a tearful reunion. Together, they plot vengeance against the suitors who overrun the palace.

Ulysses enters his own hall disguised as a beggar, enduring insults from the suitors while assessing their disloyalty. Penelope, weary of continuous mourning, confronts the suitors' greed and demands they bring gifts rather than waste her home. She interviews the mysterious beggar, moved by his gentle presence without realizing his identity. When the suitors fail to string Ulysses’ great bow during Apollo's feast, the disguised king takes the weapon, shoots through the target, and joins Telemachus, Eumæus, and the neatherd in locking the doors to execute the suitors. As the battle ends, Penelope is brought down to find her hall quieted, her son safe, and her lost husband restored.

How It Unfolds

The rebel seeks refuge Escaping a bloody prison break, the wounded brigand Giovanni Palicio vaults into the garden of Manuel, Palermo's Chief Justiciary. Bound by shared ancestral lineage, Manuel stanchly binds the outlaw's spurting wound and grants him secret shelter despite his civic duties.

Love in captivity While hiding in Manuel's inner chambers, Palicio is nursed by Manuel's sister, Margaret. As she washes his wounds and wraps his bandages, an intense romantic devotion forms between the outlaw leader and the noblewoman.

The misguided betrayal Determined to save Palicio from a suicidal plot to burn the Viceroy's palace, Margaret secretly sabotages his rebel captains. When the rebellion collapses, Palicio turns on her in rage, but the Viceroy's eventual amnesty brings peace and double nuptials.

The king returns in rags Washed ashore on Ithaca, Ulysses is shrouded by Athena in the likeness of an old beggar. He seeks shelter with his faithful swineherd, Eumæus, and learns how suitors have devoured his wealth during his twenty-year absence.

A father's secret revealed Telemachus visits the swineherd’s hut, where Athena sheds Ulysses' disguise. Father and son weep together in recognition and immediately begin organizing a covert plot to slaughter the suitors.

The test of the bow In the palace hall, Penelope challenges her suitors to string Ulysses’ heavy hunting bow. After every suitor fails, the disguised Ulysses steps forward, strings the weapon effortlessly, and turns his arrows upon the traitors.

The People

• Giovanni Palicio: A noble-born Sicilian brigand leader. Driven by a fiery zeal for the commons' rights, he wants to overthrow Spanish tyranny, but his stubborn pride and obsession with armed revenge nearly destroy his chance at personal happiness.
• Margaret: The sister of Palermo's Chief Justiciary. She seeks to save the man she loves at any cost; her fierce devotion leads her to sabotage Palicio's violent rebellion so he might live, ultimately winning his forgiveness.
• Manuel: Chief Justiciary of Palermo. Caught between his duty to Spanish law and his ties of blood, he chooses mercy over execution, striving to maintain justice without sacrificing his honor or family.
• Ulysses: The long-lost King of Ithaca. Returning after two decades of war and wandering, he wants to reclaim his home and throne; his cunning, patience, and absolute obedience to Athena enable him to execute a ruthless, calculated vengeance.
• Penelope: Queen of Ithaca and wife to Ulysses. Besieged by aggressive suitors, she fights to protect her household and hold out hope for her husband's return, using her intelligence to stall until justice arrives.
• Telemachus: The young prince of Ithaca. Eager to prove himself worthy of his legendary father, he transforms from an isolated youth into a decisive warrior fighting at Ulysses' side.

In Its Own Voice

When Palicio realizes the luxury and comfort of the household where he has taken refuge, he reflects on his past isolation in the wild:

"By heaven, where have I lived, / Like a wild beast beneath the open skies, / In dens and caves, and never known the taste / Of this soft ravishment?"

Upon stepping foot back on his native island, Ulysses feels an immediate, overwhelming sense of familiarity inside the humble hut of his loyal servant:

"Was ever sound on earth / So musical as the remembered voice / That welcomes home? By heaven, ’twas yesterday / That I was here."

Confronting the suitors who waste her estate, Penelope rejects their empty flatteries and demands respect for her absent husband's house:

"These gifts: they are well my due, and some amends / For your continual spending, which to grudge / Were unbecoming, were this house my own."

What It's Really About

At their core, both plays explore the tension between public duty and private affection, questioning what constitutes legitimate authority when law and morality collide. In Palicio, Bridges contrasts the destructive recklessness of revolutionary violence with the quiet, restorative power of personal loyalty and mercy. Palicio believes that political freedom requires blood, yet his redemption comes only when he trades insurrection for lawful stewardship and romantic devotion.

In The Return of Ulysses, the focus shifts to the patience required to restore divine order. Ulysses does not rush into his hall with drawn swords; he endures humiliation and hides his true identity until the exact right moment. The drama examines the weight of long waiting, the strain of domestic loyalty under siege, and the divine sanction of home and heritage against lawless greed.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to Victorian verse drama and poetic adaptations of classical myth will find much to admire in this volume. Bridges writes with clean, stately blank verse that shuns excessive ornament, giving his dialogue a rhythmic clarity that reads smoothly off the page. Rather than relying on simple theatrical spectacle, he highlights the psychological tension of hidden identities—whether it is a brigand disguised in a judge's house or a king disguised as a beggar in his own hall.

The book does present specific period challenges. Palicio adopts Elizabethan dramatic conventions, including complex political plotting, sudden shifts in allegiance, and formal, elevated language that requires attentive reading. The Return of Ulysses stays close to its epic source, which means modern readers must settle into a deliberate pace where long conversations and formal speeches take precedence over rapid modern pacing. Yet for those who enjoy dramatic poetry, Bridges delivers compelling character studies, sharp moral conflicts, and an enduring appreciation for the meaning of home.